Route: Mt Ascutney Auto Road

Distance: 7.4 miles out-and-back on auto road; possible 1.4 more out-and-back if you run up to the summit.

Percentage Runnable: 100%

Elevation Change: 2,247 feet up, and additional to the summit.

Ease of Navigation: You can't get lost on this one!

Parking Areas: There is a good-sized dirt lot across rte. 44A from the Park entrance.

Address:1826 Back Mountain Rd, Windsor, VT 05089

Website: https://vtstateparks.com/ascutney.html

I decided to go up the paved auto road on a cool, breezy day in March. The top 3/4 mile still had snow/ice on the road, so I put on the microspikes that I carried in my hydration pack. I would bring them along to be sure, unless the weather gets much warmer in the next couple of weeks. I didn't have time to summit, and the 0.7 to the top would have been icy. More cause for microspikes.  

Pedestrians can use the road until the park opens in mid-May, and it's an ideal mud-season run. The access road (VT 44A) and the auto road are both paved, so no dirt road access issues. Going up the road gives you a lot of views in the early spring. I was sure to set a pace that I could maintain over the 3.7 miles up, and although the grade is steady, and occasionally steep, the switchbacks made it quite runnable.